Welcome! We are Beth & Doug

We are Doug, Beth and Cameron! Our split-level home is located in a northern suburb of Chicago and often smells like waffles on the weekend. Dance parties around the kitchen, laughter at the dinner table, snuggling in on Friday nights for pizza with a movie and stories before bed fill our weeks with happiness. Beth is a stay-at-home mom to our 3-year-old son, Cameron, and Doug works downtown managing software engineers. Whether it be creating Olympic Games in our backyard, Cameron meeting new friends at the park down the street, walking to the library or cooling off from the summer sun at the local water park, adventure is always waiting just steps outside our door!

Adoption Was Always the Plan (by Beth)

There was never a particular moment when I learned that I was adopted. One of my earliest memories is being in Kindergarten and coloring construction paper turkey feathers. The teacher came around to each of my classmates and me, asked what we were most thankful for, and wrote our answer onto our feathers. My answer at 5 years old was being adopted. It was always something I grew up knowing and I was proud to incorporate it into conversations, play dates with friends and art projects at school! For example, I loved “playing adoption” with my Cabbage Patch Kids when my friends came over!

Because of my own experience being a transracially adopted baby, I know what it’s like not to look like anyone in my family while my sister looks just like my parents. I’ve had countless people come up to me throughout the years asking questions about my family; I’m sure our future Cradle Baby will, as well. I’m prepared to tackle those questions with love, compassion and understanding, while celebrating our child’s heritage, culture, individuality and adoption just like my parents did with me!

My adoption (and adoption in general) has always been celebrated by my family! We still celebrate my “Homecoming Day” with a big family dinner and stories of my parents’ journey through the adoption process at The Cradle. When I was little, I told my parents that someday I wanted to adopt a baby from The Cradle and give that baby all the love and joy of a forever family. Adoption has always been the plan for how I wanted to create our family. I’m so excited to celebrate our next child’s “Homecoming Day” and share their adoption journey right from the start!

Beth, According to Doug

Beth is truly the ultimate package. She’s beautiful, and has a passion for life that shines through with everything she does. She’s smart and hilarious without even trying, and sometimes we just can’t stop laughing! Beth is the best stay-at-home mom you can imagine. Family is everything to her, and the absolute love she shows while taking care of our son is amazing. Not only does she make sure that he is safe, healthy and staying on his toddler schedule, but also that his days are super fun! I love coming home and hearing about all the fun activities they got into while I was at work. I can always count on Beth to take care of us; her compassion is never-ending.

When Beth isn’t at home taking care of her family, she can often be found in a gym, training for her next half-marathon or taking a class that makes sweat drip off her nose! She’s always been an athlete, and a good workout (or competition!) really energizes her. She also enjoys crafting the perfect weekly or monthly layout in her planner, and then using it to keep everything in our lives organized. She’s always a social butterfly, too, and has so many friends to make plans with. Beth loves to read (mostly romance, suspense, or historical fiction) and has a weakness for reality TV.

Doug, According to Beth

Doug is the most affectionate and supportive husband and father on the planet! He has an abundance of warm bear hugs just waiting at any moment! His family always comes first in everything he does. If I’m having a tough day, I can count on Doug to make time out of his busy day at work for a phone call to make me laugh; he’ll give me a loving embrace as soon as he gets home and then immediately ask, “What can I do to help?” During the week, he’s a computer genius by day while working downtown and a doting father by night! Not a day goes by that he doesn’t have me cracking up laughing. Doug is the type of hands-on dad who looks forward to putting our son to bed each night and spending weekends on adventures with the entire family. Our greatest strength as a couple is our ability to be a team in everything we do! No matter if it’s a tough situation or parenthood, I can turn to Doug knowing he’s ready to tackle any challenge by my side and always has my back. He’s the love of my life and any future child will be so blessed to have him as their father… I know our son is!

When Doug isn’t tackling a software engineering task at work, his greatest joy is spending time with his family! Whether it’s creating a custom-built Halloween costume for our son’s wheelchair, fixing a leaky pipe around the house or being his in-laws’ go-to guy for all their electronics questions, Doug is always ready and excited to lend a helping hand! He’s a lover of movies, science fiction books and pizza, too!

Cameron

We always say that Cameron has been a fighter ever since he was an embryo! We became better people from the moment Cameron entered our lives. Although Cameron will have special needs for the rest of his life, it doesn’t stop him from being an adventure-loving toddler! He lives each day with a “can-do” attitude and is ready to tackle any challenge that might come his way. Cameron’s heart and loving spirit shine through in everything he does. He’s such a go-with-the-flow little dude who loves music, swinging on swings at the park, going on adventures and taking family vacations to Walt Disney World. Cameron goes to school every day and loves it! Cameron brings out the very best in people. We’ve seen firsthand how he has the ability to teach kindness, open-mindedness, courage and empathy in a way most other children can’t. We feel that while Cameron’s needs are different from those of an average 3-year-old, having him as a big brother to our future children will be such a blessing.

Our Promise to You

We already have something so important in common with you: we love our children unconditionally and want what is best for them. We are looking forward to exploring open adoption with you, possibly by exchanging photos, written updates or scheduling visits; whatever you’re most comfortable with! If we are blessed to be chosen as the adoptive parents to your little one, we promise you this:
 

We promise to shower this baby with unconditional love and affection, and always provide a nurturing home filled with laughter, fun and forgiveness.

We promise to always honor and respect you, and this baby will forever know the depths of your love, strength and selflessness.

We promise to raise this baby knowing about their cultural background and incorporate your family traditions into ours!

We promise to teach this baby kindness, compassion and love through example, every day.

We promise to celebrate every accomplishment, big or small, and expose him/her to many different experiences!

We promise to be this baby’s biggest advocate and support him/her whenever faced with difficult decisions throughout life.